An annual record 324 billion vehicle miles (bvm) were travelled on Great Britain’s roads in 2016, up 2.2% on the previous year, while people walked on average the distance from London to the Yorkshire Dales.

It remains unclear how European air pollution limits, which are currently being breached in 37 of 43 zones within the UK, will be enforced after Britain leaves the EU, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said.

The body leading a Government-funded trial into truck platooning has acknowledged that addressing the different performances of vehicles from different operators will be essential to the future of the technique.

A senior MP has written to the roads minister to express concern about the
lack of progress in applying fixes to Volkswagen Group cars affected by the emissions scandal, with one third of vehicles equipped with ‘defeat devices’ still unfixed.

Local authorities need to take a proactive approach to avoid falling behind as potentially game-changing digital innovation is applied on the strategic road network (SRN) and in large smart cities, council directors have warned.

More than half of drivers in a new survey felt that congestion on major roads has increased in the last year, while other drivers’ use of handheld phones has overtaken the condition of local roads as the top concern of motorists.

The chair of a key committee of MPs has called on ministers to ‘use every tool in the box’ to improve the country’s air quality after a report said nine million early deaths a year worldwide are caused by air pollution.

A minister has asked Highways England to improve the speed at which it re-opens sections of the strategic road network after incidents as new data suggests traffic jams on motorways and A roads costs the economy £9bn a year.

The chair of the Commons Transport Committee has called for ministers to ‘lead from the front’ on the issue of toxic air pollution after four parliamentary committees relaunched their joint inquiry into the issue.

Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed that it will change the fees it charges private hire operators to register, in a move that will see Uber’s costs soar from under £3,000 to nearly £3m over five years.

The Northern Ireland Executive has awarded Siemens a new four-year contract to maintain traffic management equipment throughout the country.
Siemens said the contract represents one of the largest of its kind placed with it as the main contractor.

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation on bringing in low emission zones (LEZs) as part of clean air plans that also include a target to phase out ‘the need for’ petrol and diesel vehicles by 2032.

The Government's suggestion that councils could remove speed bumps to improve air quality is starting to unravel after it appeared unable to provide evidence that such a move will have overall benefits and the UK's leading transport research body questioned its rationale.

Respondents to ministers’ first attempt at a new plan to tackle toxic air pollution from road vehicles felt that central government should take ownership of the problem, rather than leaving local authorities to deal with it.

Sadiq Khan has set out his vision for London to become the world’s leading smart city with a call for the global technology community to help tackle issues like air pollution, housing and the future of transport.

Those in favour of shared space have had a hard time of it of late, but Martin Cassini argues that calls for a moratorium miss the point, given that 'the current traffic system is based on inequality'.

The RAC has warned of ‘bumber to bumper’ traffic from Friday lunchtime at the start of a bank holiday weekend that will see at least an extra million leisure journeys taken by car, the highest number in four years.

Campaigners have criticised the Government’s new draft plan to tackle toxic air pollution, which puts the onus on councils to consider Clean Air Zones and take action to deal with high levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) outside towns and cities.

The RAC has published a Motoring Manifesto in the run up to the general election calling on the next government to tackle ‘unfair’ parking practices and implement an air quality plan that deals with buses, taxis and vans first.

Jenoptik Traffic Solutions UK is about to install its 100th SPECS average speed camera route system, with the deployment rate having grown rapidly in recent years as highways authorities and the public become more aware of the benefits.

An official Government report has come out against widening the South West Quadrant of the M25, backing measures such as developing alternatives to travel and moving traffic to ‘more sustainable modes’.

Lord Selborne, chairman of the Lords Science and Technology Committee, talks to Transport Network about the issues that the development of connected and autonomous vehicles raise for central and local government.

Six electronic warning signs have helped Network Rail and Transport for London (TfL) cut the number of oversized lorries hitting a notorious railway bridge on London’s South Circular Road by more than a third.

Transport for London and the capital’s boroughs issued nearly a million fines for moving traffic violations in a year, it has been reported, strengthening concerns about calls to extend enforcement powers beyond London.

Police chiefs and Highways England are looking at new measures to address a lack of driver understanding of smart motorways, including offering retraining instead of a ticket to people who commit offences.

A committee of MPs has accused ministers of failing to grasp the serious impacts of poor air quality and demanded action to reduce pollution as soon as possible, including funding Clean Air Zones across the country.

London mayor Sadiq Khan plans to spend £875m over five years improving the quality of the capital’s air, including £610m on the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), and a further £200m boosting step-free access on the Tube.

A senior aide warned David Cameron last autumn that the Government did not have an answer on the issue of air quality if it backed plans for a new runway at Heathrow, according to a document obtained by the Guardian.

Campaigners and council leaders have called for local authorities to be given more powers and funding to tackle toxic air pollution following Government proposals on the detail of Clean Air Zones (CAZs).

London mayor Sadiq Khan and Transport for London (TfL) have launched a second consultation on plans to tackle toxic air pollution, including implementing the Central London Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) a year ahead of schedule and a ‘T charge’ for older polluting vehicles.

Councils in London should carry out regular reviews of box junction enforcement where fines are bringing in large amounts of money, the chief executive of the Institute of Highway Engineers has told Transport Network.

Newcastle City Council will shortly begin a pilot using new technology that will tell drivers approaching urban junctions how long a current traffic signal green phase will last, enabling them to adjust their driving patterns accordingly.

Flintshire County Council officers are proposing to consolidate all the county’s speed limits into one Traffic Regulation Order (TRO), following difficulties implementing a review of limits dating back to 2009.

Sadiq Khan has claimed record, ‘overwhelming’ support for his package of measures to improve air quality in London, which include expanding the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and a crackdown on the most polluting vehicles.

Spanish tolling integrator SICE has confirmed a four-year contract with the Humber Bridge Board for the maintenance of the hybrid tolling system that it recently installed on the key east coast road link.

A former european commissioner has told MEPs it was clear for many years emissions tests for road vehicles did not represent real driving conditions but no-one suspected manufacturers would employ sophisticated cheating methods.

Some new diesel vehicles are still emitting up to 12 times more toxic Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) on the road than is allowed in official laboratory tests, although emissions from a new Volkswagen model are within current limits.

A leading think tank has proposed a ban on diesel cars in London within ten years and giving local authorities new powers to set Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) rates, to bring air pollution within safe and legal levels.

Proposed new tunnels for the capital will not cause a net increase in traffic and could be paid for with the ring-fencing of stamp duty or London-wide road charging, Transport for London (TfL) has suggested.

A £10 emissions surcharge on the most polluting vehicles entering central London, from as early as next year, is the centrepiece of Sadiq Khan’s plan to tackle the ‘life and death’ issue of air quality in the capital.

A smartphone app that promises to make life easier for motorists and provide ‘unprecedented’ traffic management and environmental benefits for councils and other car park operators has been launched in the UK.

Here in Britain, we can certainly devise some controversial transport schemes but when it comes to boondoggles, white elephants and generally bad ideas, we can’t really compete on a global level. Here are our top five.

The much-anticipated Buses Bill will hand franchising powers to
areas with directly elected mayors, while others will be able to apply for them. Legislation will also
be introduced to facilitate autonomous and electric vehicles.

New London mayor Sadiq Khan has put forward a package of transport measures to tackle toxic air pollution, including extending the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and charging the most polluting vehicles more to enter the city centre.

The Government-commissioned report that recommended a new runway at Heathrow significantly underestimated the costs of improving surface transport access, which could exceed £18bn, according to Transport for London (TfL).

The average British driver spent 124 hours stuck in gridlock last year, according to research carried out by INRIX and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr). And the congestion problem is only set to get worse as populations continue to grow.

Leaders in the West Midlands have signed a provisional £1bn devolution deal with government that brings a directly elected mayor to the region from 2017, responsible for a raft of new transport powers.

A total of seven councils are now piloting greater community and business involvement in highways and place management, including low-level road maintenance and infrastructure development, Transport Network can reveal.

World-leading engineering firm Siemens has announced it will unveil an array of new products and services at the combined Traffex and Parkex event in Birmingham – the UK’s most important traffic industry exhibition.

Potential revolutions in transport appear to be everywhere nowadays – flying drones in the skies, driverless cars on the ground, and now a Cambridgeshire based company plans to take things underground.

Prototype driverless cars that will be tested in four English cities were unveiled today, with ministers suggesting the £19m government seed funding for the schemes could help develop a £900bn industry by 2025.

Transport for London (TfL) has won ITS (intelligent transportation systems) industry support for its new technical specification for a management information base (MIB) covering remote monitoring of traffic control equipment.

Experts in Wales have outlined a vision of how the next generation’s transport systems could look, predicting that by 2035 driverless vehicles will be on the roads and road user charging could be taken forward under a new Welsh Highways Agency.

Road user charging could be back on the political agenda in London after the mayoral election in 2016 with the Greater London Authority in a potential race with the Treasury to introduce it first, the capital’s head of transport has said.

Urban and rural travellers and tourists, users of passenger ferries, and flood-prone communities are among likely beneficiaries of new ‘white space’ broadband technology in which the UK is taking a European lead.

Transport minister Baroness Kramer has announced seven local authority sustainable transport schemes will benefit from share of a £9000,000 in the wake of last month’s Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) allocations.

London, the West Midlands and West Yorkshire are unlikely to meet the Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) legal limit target before 2030, according to new projections from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.

Transport for London (TfL) has published plans for the first segregated cycle superhighway in the heart of the capital, giving cyclists better infrastructure at key black spots and opening up a ‘vital’ route to support cycling from south London residents.

Car sharing schemes could ‘revolutionise’ transport Baroness Kramer said today, although industry insiders suggest a range of policy initiatives are needed to help the concept move past the ‘early adopters stage’.

Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin laid down three central planks to the Government’s £24bn strategic road network strategy in a speech to leading engineers today, suggesting new roads are not always the answer to congestion.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has appointed experts to support a major new study into improving our understanding of the economic and social benefits of transport schemes and bringing it into the digital age.

The European commissioner for transport Siim Kallas has announced major plans for ‘EU-wide multimodal travel information, planning and ticketing services’, while maintaining that the ‘market’ must lead the way on innovation.

Transport minister Robert Goodwill has strongly hinted at what local authorities can expect from planned parking reforms, following a major consultation on the issue and a war of words between ministers and councils.

Transport for London (TfL) has celebrated record results in its draft 2013-14 Annual Report, which shows customer satisfaction rising to an all time high despite more passengers than ever using the network.

Siemens and the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) have started a four-month study into the feasibility of the first full-scale UK deployment of the company’s Integrated Mobility Platform (IMP).

A senior Labour Party figure has criticised the Coalition Government’s highways policy as part of a wider speech outlining his party’s commitment to deficit reduction through a ‘strategic long-term approach’.

Camden LBC has outlined a £26m plan to transform the Tottenham Court Road area of the West End ahead of the new Crossrail station in 2018, when Tottenham Court Road station will be busier than Heathrow Airport.

Ministers should provide more specific examples of nationally important transport schemes and develop an integrated strategy reaching across national and local networks, an influential group of MPs said today.

Tackling future congestion is a key justifications claimed by Government for its massive road building programme. But the Government's plans for new roads in the countryside ignore the fact that congestion is largely an urban problem.

Downing Street has vowed to review the resilience of the transport network as the prime minister sends out the first signals that Britain could emerge stronger after this catastrophic period of storms and flooding.

As the flooding crisis and severe storms continue to block roads, councils are responding to the emergency by publishing closures and diversions instantly on a national web platform for the first time.

Replacing the Hammersmith Flyover with a tunnel could take just three years and in theory might be self financing by releasing around £1bn worth of former highway land, according to the local council's latest study.

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has elected the next chairman of its influential National Road Freight Council, which directs FTA policy in its representations to Government, Brussels and other authorities.

In the first of our smarter cities series, David Willetts, minister of state for Universities and Science, talks about the UK’s tradition of innovation in the city space and its future in the growing smart city market.

Most rural shires with summer tourism hotspots might feel a tinge of sympathy for Cornwall Council this week, after the authority was lambasted for installing 63 no parking signs along a one-mile country lane.

New figures assembled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) list the top ten categories of deaths in London boroughs for the first time, with air pollution a factor in a majority of cases according to clean air campaigners.

Wolverhampton City Council and West Midlands transport authority Centro are set to launch a £1.4m package of transport along Stafford Road between Wolverhampton city centre and i54 in South Staffordshire.

Ministers have revealed the winners of the latest tranche of local pinch-point funding, releasing £49m for 25 schemes designed to tackle congestion hot spots, alongside announcing a raft of major road and rail works.

Dedicated traffic courts handling cases including speeding and parking offences are set to be established across all 42 police-force areas by next April as part of the Government’s flagship justice policy for traffic.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has confirmed transport cash for the capital's councils will be spared cuts over the next three years, as the Local Implementation Fund (LIP) will be held at £148m a year up to 2016-17.

A violent storm has battered the UK leaving at least two dead, closing rail services across Scotland and hitting swathes of coastline with a tidal surge that forced thousands of residents to evacuate their homes.

The Government has announced the winners of the annual Air Quality Grant Programme, which this year awards £1m to local authority schemes tackling nitrogen dioxide levels normally associated with road transport.

London mayor Boris Johnson has unveiled plans for a £6bn rail “super-hub” that would see links for Crossrail and High Speed Rail 2 converge on a proposed north west London development dubbed ‘mini-Manhattan’.

Transport campaigners have called on ministers to take drastic action to tackle the dangers of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) after new research suggests lorries are involved in an increasing percentage of fatal road accidents in the UK.

An alliance of South East councils representing 9.5 million residents have called for a major expansion of more than one UK airport and connecting surface transport capacity to maintain global competitiveness.

The CBI has called for local and national infrastructure plans to be ‘integrated’ and local transport teams to engage more with business as part of a series of measures designed to rejuvenate the high street.

Transport for London sites from Blackwell tunnel to Victoria station will take part in Open Doors and Open House this month, giving the public a further insight into transport the capital’s transport system.

Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has written in the Financial Times today to stress the importance of High Speed Rail 2 (HS2) for the nation, stating without it London risks losing its status as an ‘economic global powerhouse’.

Tens of thousands of school children are being put at risk by road pollution in London as more than 1,000 schools are found to be within 150 metres of roads with such bad traffic emissions it could affect their health.

Research assessed 30 cities and found that while all of them recognised climate change was a serious threat, most were failing to implement policies that could reduce problems like transport-linked surface emissions.

Drivers could be given a 15-minute ‘grace period’ on double yellow lines under plans floated by the Conservatives today - allowing shoppers to park on high streets and quickly use shops without fear of being fined.

A concept for a new type of transportation system has been unveiled by Paypal founder Elon Musk, who developed the idea for an 800mph, near-supersonic 'Hyperloop' system to link Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has set out the strategic platform behind the Spending Review’s major transport investment, designed to ‘help transport planners to make the case for joined-up planning’.

Freight drivers and cyclist groups are at loggerheads over a decision by roads minister Stephen Hammond to abolish compulsory training for people driving Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) for repair or testing.

Congestion on locally managed ‘A’ roads increased during peak hours this spring, with all motor vehicle traffic on all road types increasing and light vehicle miles reaching their highest since records began.

Slowly but surely, the Government's road building plans are taking shape. After a three-year phoney war over what they were planning and how they were going to pay for it, we are beginning to get an idea about what is really on the table.

Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has approved a joint roadworks permit scheme between Surrey and East Sussex county councils, which will ‘save millions by cutting traffic jams’ the authorities said.

For the fourth consecutive year, Freight Transport Association (FTA) has brought together leading a varied voices from across the transport sector to host the Transport Hub events at the 2013 party conferences.

Emergency measures including traffic restrictions are needed to tackle air pollution in the capital opposition members of the London Assembly claimed, as they slammed Boris Johnson for not taking the issues seriously enough.

Improvements to the M4 and possibly a £1bn relief road for the motorway could be financed by tolls on the Severn crossings if the bridges are devolved to the Welsh Government, Welsh finance minister Jane Hutt has revealed.

Plans for the future of London’s roads include the possibility of roofing arterial roads, tolling new infrastructure and enhancing place-making opportunities in the capital, the Mayor’s roads task force (RTF) announced today.

Owner of the M6 toll road have offered the Government a deal to allow free use of the motorway at times of peak congestion, in exchange for the firm being released from an obligation to part-finance a link road, it has emerged.

Reform of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) should focus on economic growth and introduce financial certainty to the sector if it is to be successful, according to the British Property Federation (BPF).

Council chiefs have accused the Government of jeopardising its own infrastructure and flood defences agenda by pushing ahead with plans to tighten financial regulations on integrated transport authorities.

Westminster must devolve a range of powers to the Welsh Government including greater control of rail franchising and bus regulation in order to support an integrated public transport in the devolved nation, influential Welsh Assembly members warned.

A global transport survey covering some for the world’s major cities including London has revealed 90% of urban residents regularly use public transport and are willing to pay more for technological improvements.

New rules proposed by the Government’s advisory body, the Law Commission, could see local authorities handed the power to stop licensed vehicles, impound cars and impose fixed penalty notices for taxi companies flouting the law.

London cycling commissioner Andrew Gilligan has claimed a new roundabout layout currently being tested in laboratory conditions could be applied to the capital’s roads within a year, despite not conforming to government regulations.

Business secretary Vince Cable has championed City Deals paving the way for more local transport funds, while suggesting the Government’s single growth pot is unlikely to be as large as originally recommended.

Visitors to Traffex this week heard from the Government about how it is using the transport sector to push for economic growth, consulting on proposals to overhaul traffic sign legislation, and creating more sustainable travel..

The Highways Agency has defended its controversial policy to allow traffic to use the hard shoulder on busy stretches of motorway, as it pushes ahead with efforts to reduce congestion on the strategic road network.

West England authorities have presented a united front following delays to the £200m Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) scheme for the Bristol City region, stating lessons have been learned from the Edinburgh tram project.

Whitehall management of major infrastructure projects, including transport schemes, has been described as ‘worryingly poor’ by a senior government adviser, following the release of a new report focusing on the issue.

The Department for Transport (DfT) is facing national protests after transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin today approved £57m of government funding for the controversial £90m Bexhill–Hastings Link Road.

Highways work under Transport for London’s (TfL’s) groundbreaking London Highways Alliance Contracts (LoHAC) framework will start this week, potentially delivering schemes worth more than £2bn over the next eight years.

On the 50th anniversary of the Beeching report the Department for Transport has told Transport Network the ‘tide has turned’ and many of the local lines that were closed in the wake of that explosive publication are set to be re-opened.

A study has been launched into whether travel times could be slashed between Cardiff city centre and Penarth by operating a bus service across the Cardiff Bay barrage, offering some of the most scenic views in south Wales.

Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has unveiled a new award to celebrate councils’ action on reducing traffic signs, in partnership with the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT).

Two major groups of local authorities have unveiled regional growth plans – with a strong emphasis on transport - building on the recommendations made by Lord Heseltine in his report to government No stone unturned.

‘Big data’ analysis software - allowing public sector bodies to cross-reference a vast wealth of different information sets - is the future of local government transport, according to senior figures in the industry.

Following five years of negotiations, a man has won a substantial payout from a London council after suffering brain damage from tripping over a street pothole - some reports put the final damages at around £1 million.

More than 80,000 homes are ‘mired in transport poverty’ due to their car use, as research suggests the poorest 10% of car-owning households are spending 27% of their disposable income on buying and running their vehicles.

Councils are ‘essential’ to successful investment in transport infrastructure, the Local Government Association (LGA) claimed in a briefing released this week outlining future financing and management options for the UK road network.

Supporting mobility for the growing ‘older old’ demographic is already a challenge for local authorities, and the demands are likely to increase as health and social services increasingly regard active lifestyles as preventative medicine. Rhodri Clark reports. The ‘over 65’ category still appears sometimes

The Government vowed to overhaul the nation’s infrastructure this week, as scores of trunk road and rail schemes were approved. But critics have attacked ministers’ lack of support for local highways and public transport projects. Delivering his Autumn Statement to MPs on Tuesday 29 November, the chancell

Chancellor George Osborne has been urged to use next month’s Budget to ‘translate plans into outcomes’, and persuade pension funds to invest a planned £20bn in UK infrastructure. The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) welcomed the National Infrastructure Plan, which Mr Osborne hopes will dri